The Rise Of Twitter Fiction

[Paul Whybrow]

After making a few posts about the rise of very short forms of fiction, including one on interstitial publishing, I found this article on how authors are using Twitter as a way to plug their upcoming books:

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/09/the-rise-of-twitter-fiction/404761/

Well-established authors have done so, including David Mitchell, Philip Pullman, Jennifer Egan and Margaret Atwood.

Even taking into account limited attention spans, and people reading on the move, what puzzles me about this development is how easy is it for readers of a story told in 140 character sections to remember what they've read before? Imagine reading a novel one paragraph at a time, putting the book down for a while before reading another paragraph. It would be interesting to know the rate that the tweets appear, as it's a very disjointed way of reading a whole book.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Nooooo. If I like a book, I want to eat it in one sitting, or two or three at most.

 

[Nicole Wilson]

It would also be possible for a follower to go back through the author's tweets to read either all in one chunk or to go back and remember what the last tweet was. This is interesting - and something I've wondered about for a while. I think it's a cool idea. It forces you to be succinct and tight with your words. Every sentence, every word counts. And if you can keep audiences wanting more with only 140 characters, I think it's proof that you're really on to something.

 

[Stephen Drake]

I'm with @Katie-Ellen Hazeldine ! I consume books that get me hooked!

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Just 'ate' 'The Well,' by Catherine Chanter. Ate it in 3 even though I didn't like it, as it is a new release, very well reviewed. Research, innit. Well written, intelligent, and ghastly.

 

[Emurelda]

I used to have the time to consume books like that but alas with kids I'm lucky to be able to read two lines without interruptions. Already just writing this message has gotten two 'interruptions' from me kids. But brushing teeth and showing their mum an ivory smile is important too . Cheeeeeeese.